Politeness is very important in Thai society and culture. From wai'ing (placing palms together in front of you and bowing head) when you meet someone to adding an honorific title in front of someone older's name (the kids call their older cousin Pym, "Pee Pym"), respect is an important part of Thai language and behaviors.
One way this politeness manifests itself is at the end of a spoken sentence. It is polite for a man to add "kab" at the end of a sentence, and for a woman to add "ka". The traditional greeting in Thailand is "sa wa dee". A man would say "sa wa dee kab", while a woman would say "sa wa dee ka".
People might drop the kab or ka at the end of a sentence, particulary when speaking to a peer or someone they know well. I certainly don't know the nuances of politeness well enough to distinguish, so I usually err on the side of politeness. Of course most Thai's realize that as a falang, I'm not attuned to their customs and cut me some slack.
One interesting note is that one must be careful when learning Thai from someone of the opposite sex. You can't simply repeat back exactly when they say. If I repeated my wife's "sa wa dee ka" to people at a party, I'm sure that I would elicit a few smiles and laughs.
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